1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an attachment and connection structure for attaching an electrical equipment such as a meter unit to the instrument panel of a vehicle, and securely connecting the electrical equipment unit to a connector provided to the instrument panel.
2. Related Art
FIG. 5 shows an attachment and connection structure of an electrical equipment disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 7-124859 filed by the present applicant.
In this structure, an electronic unit 52 is attached unitarily on the rear surface of a meter unit 51 by connector connection. The meter unit 51 is attached to a finish panel 53, thereby forming a cluster module 60. The finish panel 53, i.e., the cluster module 60, is then mounted to an instrumental panel 54, and a connector 55 of the electronic unit 52 is then engaged with a receiving connector 57 of a car wire harness 56.
The finish panel 53 is provided with lights and a switch unit 58 such as a hazard and a door mirror control. The electronic unit 52 includes the power sources and functions to integrate or distribute input and output signals. The switch unit 58 is connected to the meter unit 51 by a connector 59. The meter unit 51 is mounted to the finish panel provided with the switch unit, thereby forming the cluster module 60.
The finish panel 53 has a guide protrusion 61, and a receiving portion 63 for receiving the guide protrusion 61 is provided to the inner wall of a receiving chamber 62 on the side of the instrument panel 54. The receiving connector 57 is attached to a back wall 64 of the receiving chamber 62 in vertically and transversely movable condition. As the guide protrusion 61 slides along the receiving portion 63, the finish panel 53 is guided into the receiving chamber 62 and then connected to the electronic unit 52, with the receiving connector 57 correcting the displacement with the mating connector 55. An automatic temperature control unit 65 is included in a receiving chamber 66, and connected to the receiving connector 67 of the car wire harness 56.
With the above conventional structure, however, there has been a problem that when the finish panel 53 is attached to the instrument panel 54, pressing load is exerted on the front surface of the finish panel 53 away from the receiving connector 57. This causes a problem that the parts other than the connector attachment portions need to have rigidity, thereby making the construction more complicated and increasing the weight. Furthermore, if the distance from the connectors 55 and 57 to the guide protrusion 61 and the receiving portion 63 is long, the dimensional tolerance becomes greater, making it necessary to widen the movable range of the connector 57. What is worse, since the connectors 55 and 57 become hidden when the finish panel 53 is attached to the instrument panel 54, it is difficult to determine whether the connectors 55 and 57 are securely connected or not, thus reducing reliability in connection.